Letter to a Prospective Parent

Congratulations!

That you are looking for a better education for your child testifies to the kind of loving, thoughtful, and engaged parent you are. Your child is fortunate to have you! The education we have to offer your child is the kind of education every child should have. Let me tell you why.

We are a private school serving students in grades 5 – 8. New students are welcome to apply to the 5th or 6th grade if they pass our admissions test and qualify for the Federal Free or Reduced Price Meals Program. An Academy Prep student’s $17,000 a year education is fully funded through private donations and the Step Up For Students (SUFS) scholarship (www.stepupforstudents.org). Our students pay no tuition. Students who pass our admissions test will be given a school application.

Girls and boys here are taught in separate classrooms. We find, and studies show, that this facilitates the learning process. Our school day begins with convocation at 7:30am. The academic day ends at 3:40pm. This is followed by a snack and our enrichment period. This enrichment period includes such activities as choir, band, sewing, volleyball, gardening, dance, photojournalism, cooking, chess, cheerleading, basketball, and many other activities. This part of the day is fun, but it is still part of the mandatory school day. At 5:00pm, students not required to attend Study Hall are dismissed. Study Hall begins at 5pm and lasts until 6:05pm. Study Hall is required of all those who have less than a 3.0 academic GPA or who have a D+ or less in any academic subject. Study Hall provides struggling students an opportunity to get a little extra tutoring or homework help. We want all of our students to do well; and Study Hall provides these students the extra help they may need. Many students who are not required to attend Study Hall will often choose to attend so as to get their work done before they are picked up.

Attendance at Saturday morning field trips is mandatory of all students. The 5th grade class attends the first Saturday, the 6th grade will attend on the second Saturday, etc. Field trips include such activities as trips to Lowry Park Zoo, MOSI or the Dali Museum, canoe trips on the Hillsborough River, back stage tours of the Straz Center, community service projects, and many more fun and engaging activities. Field trips provide our students further outlets of exploration and learning. (Note: all admission fees to museums and the like are fully paid for by us.)

Our Graduate Support Program follows our kids from 8th grade graduation through college. Our highest performing graduates are placed in some of the area’s most prestigious high schools and elite out of state boarding schools – with full scholarships. We currently have students at Jesuit, Berkeley Prep, Tampa Prep, Academy of the Holy Names, St. Andrew’s in Tennessee, and Phillips Exeter in New Hampshire, to name just a few schools. We do everything possible to insure that all of our graduates continue to strive in high school and through college.

Our students enjoy a fabulous education here – one that every child should have. We are proud that our Academy Prep graduates are academically strong, socially poised, and confident in their abilities and God-given talents.

I know this is much to digest, but if you think of something that I have not covered, please call me. I love to talk about Academy Prep.